Mike Haggar
Mike Haggar is a character in the Final Fight series. He was also featured in the lesser-known Saturday Night Slam Masters and its sequel. He is also a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/06/marvel-vs-capcom-3-haggar-phoenix/ Profile Haggar made his debut in the original Final Fight, originally released for the arcades in 1989. He is described as a former "Street Fighter" turned Mayor (much in the vein of real-life former wrestler Jesse Ventura who, years after retiring, would go on to be the Governor of Minnesota from 1999 through 2003), who has sworn to diminish the city's ever-increasing crime rate after winning the election. History 'Slam Masters' In addition to Final Fight, Haggar also appeared in a trilogy of pro wrestling games by Capcom: Saturday Night Slam Masters in 1993, which was followed by an updated version titled Muscle Bomber Duo and a sequel titled Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2 in 1994. According to the original Japanese plot, the games are actually set before Final Fight and depict Haggar's professional wrestling career prior to being elected mayor. However, the English localization of the series removes all references of the games being set in the past and even erroneously describes Haggar as the "former mayor of Metro City". Haggar seems to have been loosely modeled after the late real-life wrestler Randy Savage in his Slam Masters incarnation; his ring name is Mike "Macho" Haggar, and the games even feature a winning pose in which he lifts his daughter Jessica onto his shoulder (a possible nod to Savage and his valet, Miss Elizabeth). 'The Threat of Mad Gear' The plot of Final Fight centers around the Mad Gear Gang's attempt to manipulate the newly-elected Haggar by kidnapping his young daughter, Jessica. Instead of submitting to the gang's demands, Haggar enlists the help of Jessica's boyfriend, Cody and his friend Guy, to combat the gang and defeat their leader Belger. In Final Fight 2, Haggar sets out to defeat the newly revived Mad Gear Gang led by Retu in order to rescue Guy's girlfriend and master. In this game Haggar is joined by Maki, Guy's future sister-in-law and Bushin-style fighter, and Carlos, a South American swordsman friend of Haggar staying with him at the time. Haggar's appearance did not change much between the two games, other than a slight change in his outfit. However, he did gain the Spinning Piledriver, replacing his regular Piledriver, as a special move. 'Final Fight 3' In 1995's Final Fight 3, Haggar is rejoined by Guy and the two team up with Lucia Morgan, a female cop, and another ex-Street Fighter named Dean to battle the Skull Cross Gang, a new criminal organization that has taken over Mad Gear's position by becoming the new dominant gang of Metro City. Haggar's design is changed drastically from the previous Final Fight games, with the character being given a pony tail and shorts. Haggar was also given a new super combo called the Final Hammer, which is actually a series of various wrestling moves. 'Non-canon Continuities' Haggar did not appear as a playable character again until 1999's Final Fight Revenge, an American-developed competitive fighting game set immediately after the events of the original Final Fight. Haggar's story in Final Fight Revenge revolves once again around the disappearance of his daughter, who has vanished following a series of riots in Metro City. Jessica's disappearance is not resolved in Haggar's ending, which is instead a recreation of Rolento's ending in Street Fighter Alpha 2, which depicts Rolento's attempt to takeover the city. Eventually, the "Street Fighter Zero 3 Secret File Book" would reveal that Haggar was able to rescue his daughter from danger, and that Jessica would eventually leave Metro City to study abroad in Europe. An aging and grizzled Mike Haggar resurfaced in Final Fight: Streetwise, released in 2006. In Streetwise, Haggar runs a gym, "Mike's Mat and Muscle", and a dock "Mike's Maritime Maintenance". He has seemingly isolated himself from most of Metro City, and says many of its citizens have forgotten him. Jessica's whereabouts are not commented on, nor does she even seem to exist anymore. Haggar's new objective is in aiding new protagonist Kyle by teaching him grappling moves and fighting alongside him in one portion of the game. Haggar is also playable (along with Cody, Guy and Kyle) in Streetwise's survival battle mode. In Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Mike Haggar assists the heroes in fighting Dr. Doom and Wesker, and then later Galactus. He also appears to be running for mayor of New York City, and in his ending actually becomes President of the United States of America. He is seen with Felicia, trying to put out the fire on a burning "Vote For Haggar" sign, only resulting in it becoming destroyed even more, somewhat by Felicia. He then breaks the sign and grabs a steel pipe to go into battle, Felicia riding jubilantly on his back. His fighting style has changed, too, focusing more on dashing, hard strikes, and juggling enemies than on his grappling moves. Abilities Of the three playable characters in the original Final Fight, Haggar is the slowest but the most powerful. In addition, he also specializes in the use of a steel pipe, swinging it faster than the other characters. * Suplex - Haggar wraps his arms around the opponent's midsection, and follows it up by pulling them backwards over his torso and head, smashing them into the ground behind him. * Back Flip Drop - This move involves Haggar grabbing an opponent from behind, then leaping into the air and driving the enemy down head first. * Spinning Piledriver - Replacing his original Piledriver move, the Spinning Piledriver has Haggar grabbing an opponent, leaping several feet into the air, spinning with him on descent, and smashing him down on the ground for massive damage. * Double Lariat - Haggar clenches his fists and stretches his arms out horizontally, and then spins toward the opponent in an effort to connect. * Violent Axe - Haggar dashes forward and delivers an axe-handle punch to his enemies. In Final Fight 3, he swings upwards once. In Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, he can add another downward swing to the end of it. * Giant Haggar Press - Haggar leaps into the air and comes down in an explosive body press. * Rapid Fire Fist - Haggar delivers repeated punches to his opponent's midsection, topping it off with an enhanced version of his Violent Axe. Trivia *Haggar also appeared in the Japan-only release Capcom World 2. *A bust in Haggar's likeness awards the player who comes across it 5000 points in Captain Commando, connecting the Metro City of the past with the Metro City of the future. *Zangief from the Street Fighter series is similar to Haggar in terms of build and fighting style. In Street Fighter IV, Zangief has an alternate costume purchasable that is also Haggar's costume. *On January 6th, Haggar and Phoenix were officially revealed to be included in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds as playable characters. *In a video for Street Fighter X Tekken, he was tag teamed by King and Marduk and supplexed into submission. He also appear as a cameo in one of the new stages from the game, where he is seen crashing through the stairs at the end of the second round and is later seen chasing Sodom around the stage on the third round. Sprites Gallery Image:Haggar&Nancy.png|A young Haggar with Nancy Image:FFHaggar.png|''Final Fight'' Image:FFCDHaggar.png|''Final Fight CD'' Image:FFHaggarPiledriver.png|The Piledriver from Final Fight Image:FF2Haggar.png|''Final Fight 2'' Image:SMHaggar.png|''Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2'' Image:FF3Haggar.png|''Final Fight 3'' Image:FFRevengeHaggar.png|''Final Fight Revenge'' Image:Mike Haggar (Capcom Fighting All-Stars).png|''Capcom Fighting All Stars'' Image:StreetwiseHaggar1.png|''Final Fight: Streetwise'' Image:StreetwiseHaggar2.png|''Final Fight: Streetwise'' Image:NamCapHaggar.png|''Namco x Capcom'' Image:FFDIHaggar.png|''Final Fight: Double Impact'' Image:AllStarsQuartet.png|With Hiryu, Poison and Akira Image:GamestHaggar.png|April 1990 issue of Gamest magazine Mike Haggar.png|''Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3'' Haggar_DLC_68578_640screen.jpg|''Final Fight 3'' (DLC - Brawler Costume Pack) Category:Final Fight Characters Category:Slam Masters Characters Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Living Characters